I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 608 - 287: How Many Ways Do You Know to Eat Youtiao? Midnight Hunger Rescue Guide! [Subscribe Request]_3

Chapter 608: Chapter 287: How Many Ways Do You Know to Eat Youtiao? Midnight Hunger Rescue Guide! [Subscribe Request]_3

"Mom, don’t say that. Xu Bao spoils me rotten," Yueyue said.

"Spoils you rotten? Well, that just means he hasn’t *completely* spoiled you rotten yet."

The conversation between his wife and mother made Lin Xu feel a bit like a third wheel. He stood up and said, "There doesn’t seem to be much to eat in the house right now. Let me see what we have."

A few days ago, the Dieting Squad had launched another vigorous fat-loss campaign. To demonstrate her determination, Shen Baobao had moved all the household snack reserves to Lin Ji’s Food.

And since no one had been cooking at home, there was hardly anything to eat.

Aside from rice, flour, and daily condiments, the fridge held only a few Eggs, several leftover youtiao from the morning, and a couple of cucumbers Shen Baobao used for her facial masks.

This...

Lin Xu grabbed a cucumber, shook it at Shen Baobao, and asked, "Want one?"

"No, thanks. I want some carbs... Do we have any at home?"

After another search, Lin Xu found a few packs of instant noodles hidden in a corner of the cupboard. His mom had likely shoved them there to make space when she was around; it was a clever hiding spot that had escaped Shen Baobao’s last snack purge.

He took them out and said, "I’ll boil some water and make these for you..."

Before he could finish, his mother, Chen Meijuan, piped up again from the phone, "Make them how? The seasoning packets in instant noodles are full of additives. Just boil the noodles, then fry them with some Eggs to make stir-fried noodles. Smash those two cucumbers, make a cold salad with those leftover youtiao, and that’ll be perfect, won’t it?"

A cold salad?

Lin Xu pulled out the chilly youtiao from the fridge, looked at his mom on the phone, and asked, "These can be made into a cold salad?"

"Why not? Cut them into small pieces, give them a quick fry in hot oil, then mix them with the cucumber. They’ll taste great... Hurry up and get started; Yueyue is waiting to eat."

This was truly beyond Lin Xu’s expectations.

Heeding his mother’s urging, he began to prepare.

First, he put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Then, he placed a frying pan on the adjacent burner, poured oil into it, and prepared to refry the youtiao as his mother had instructed.

While the oil was heating, he cut the youtiao into pieces slightly larger than mahjong tiles.

Next, he washed the cucumbers, smashed them flat, and then cut them into irregular chunks with diagonal slices.

After chopping the cucumbers, he put them in a bowl. He then mashed some garlic to make Garlic Paste, added a couple of spoonfuls of Chili Oil, and mixed in Light Soy Sauce, vinegar, salt, Sesame Oil, and other seasonings, tossing everything together.

By the time he finished these tasks, the oil in the pan was moderately hot.

He dropped the youtiao pieces into the pan. In the hot oil, the previously soft youtiao puffed up and became crispy again.

After fishing them out and draining the oil, he added them to the bowl with the cucumbers and mixed well.

Once mixed, Lin Xu tasted it and found it surprisingly delicious.

The youtiao, having been refried, were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Coated with a bit of the tart and spicy dressing, they were delicious and appetizing—a perfect match for the cucumbers.

He had never imagined youtiao could be eaten this way; it was a real eye-opener.

He didn’t bother plating it, simply carrying the bowl out of the kitchen. His wife and mother were still chatting. Lin Xu offered a piece of the youtiao to Shen Baobao. Her eyes lit up as soon as she tasted it, and she exclaimed, "Wow, this youtiao is so delicious!"

He’d thought using youtiao as a filling for buns was surprising enough. And now there was another new surprise waiting.

Lin Xu handed her the chopsticks, saying, "Take your time eating. Keep chatting with Mom for a bit. I’ll go stir-fry the instant noodles."

Watching the loving scene between her son and daughter-in-law, Chen Meijuan, on the other end of the call, smiled contentedly and said, "Go ahead and eat, Yueyue. I won’t disturb your meal. Rest early after you finish, and don’t stay up late."

"I know, Mom. You and Dad should rest early too!"

After ending the video call, Shen Baobao checked the "Tiantian’s Singles-Free Squad" group chat and found Zeng Xiaoqi complaining about being hungry because she hadn’t eaten enough that afternoon.

Chen Yan, Dou Wenjing, and Shu Yun were there, comforting her and encouraging her to stick with the diet.

Resist today, and a more beautiful self awaits tomorrow.

Just as they were all giving Director Zeng motivational pep talks and encouraging each other, Shen Baobao posted a photo of the cucumber and youtiao salad in the group chat, asking, "I really didn’t expect this! The youtiao and cucumber salad tastes surprisingly good. Have any of you tried this before?"

Nobody in the group had.

But seeing the Lady Boss eating at that moment, they instantly felt their resolve crumble.

A short while later, Zeng Xiaoqi posted a screenshot of her takeout order, declaring, "I ordered crayfish takeout, plus spicy stir-fried clams, grilled bread slices, roasted eggplant, and meat skewers. What about you guys?"

The others silently posted their own takeout orders.

After everyone had posted, Dou Wenjing said, "Today doesn’t count. Let’s start fresh tomorrow; no more eating at night!"

"It’s all Yueyue’s fault! If you’re going to eat, just eat! Why did you have to post pictures? You made me order over two hundred yuan worth of takeout... Is this youtiao with cucumber salad any good?"

"I wanted to ask the Lady Boss too. It looks tempting, but I feel like those two ingredients don’t quite go together."

"I also think they don’t match, but why does it look so incredibly enticing? Seeing it makes me want to try it... Can the boss make some for us tomorrow? I’m getting a craving..."

Knowing their takeout hadn’t arrived yet, Shen Baobao deliberately recorded a short video of herself eating the youtiao, saying with relish, "These youtiao were refried, so the outside is super crispy, and the inside is so fluffy and soft... Listen to this crunch! Sounds good, right? If it sounds good, it tastes good!"

Everyone: "..."

No wonder Dundun always called the Lady Boss the Demon King.

At this very moment, she truly was a demon king!

「In the kitchen.」 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The water in the pot was already boiling.

Lin Xu took the noodle cake out of its instant noodle packet and dropped it into the water.

In the boiling water, the noodle cake quickly separated.

Once all the noodle cakes had separated into strands, he immediately lifted them from the pot with a slotted spoon and rinsed them under cold water. This prevented the residual heat from overcooking the instant noodles and causing them to lose their pleasantly chewy texture.

Once the noodles were cooked, he rummaged through the fridge again, found half an onion, sliced it, and set it aside on a plate. Then he cracked two Eggs.

Next, he poured out most of the oil used for frying the youtiao, leaving just a little in the bottom of the pan.

He heated the pan over high heat, poured in the beaten Eggs, and stir-fried them until they formed chunks, then removed them.

He poured in more oil, added the onions, and stir-fried them briefly. Then, he added the drained, cooled instant noodles to the pan. He quickly stir-fried them to cook off any surface moisture, which would improve the texture.

After stir-frying for a minute, it was time to season.

He added a small spoonful of salt, a small spoonful of Cumin Powder, and a small spoonful of Chili Powder to the pan. Then, he drizzled a little Light Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce along the edge of the pan for color.

He continued to stir-fry.

He stir-fried until the seasonings were thoroughly mixed and fragrant, then added the cooked Eggs.

The Eggs couldn’t be added too early, or they would absorb the color from the Dark Soy Sauce, affecting the dish’s appearance.

After stirring everything evenly once more, he dished it out.

Having been busy for a while, Lin Xu was also feeling a bit hungry.

He served two plates, one large and one small.

After plating, he brought them out. Shen Baobao, who was "poisoning" the group chat, caught a whiff of the aroma, and her face instantly lit up with delight. "This smells incredible!" she exclaimed. "It’s like the stir-fried noodles from a barbecue stall. How did you make this?"

Lin Xu smiled, popped a piece of youtiao into his mouth, and said, "Just add some Cumin when stir-frying... We’re a bit short on ingredients at home today. If we had bean sprouts or something, it would have tasted even better."

"This is already fantastic! Thank you, Xu Bao!"

Shen Baobao puckered her oily lips and planted a kiss on Lin Xu’s cheek. She then snapped a photo of the stir-fried instant noodles on the table with her phone and sent it to the group, captioning it, "Tonight’s main dish: stir-fried instant noodles! Added some Cumin Powder while stir-frying, so it tastes just like the ones from a barbecue stand. I’ll get Xu Bao to make this for you all to try during the day sometime!"

Try it later? What’s the use of that? We’re hungry *now*, lady!

The members of the dieting squad in the group chat realized for the first time that waiting for takeout could be an agonizingly long affair.

Nearby, Lin Xu took a couple of bites of the youtiao and cucumber salad, followed by a mouthful of the chewy and delicious stir-fried instant noodles.

Mm, not bad. Delicious!

He glanced at the bright moon outside and then posted an update under the Lin Ji’s Food topic: "Wishing all friends a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"